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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread - Southern Living

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven. Don't you agree? This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007! In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern. Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else. Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention.

This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had. An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas. The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component. Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition. Roasting the nuts brings out their natural oils and adds SO much flavor...Don't skip this step! To roast them, simply place the pecans on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted. I usually add a sprinkling of pecans over the top of the batter before baking. Another trick is to leave a few small chunks of banana...I don't mash them up completely.

Another great thing about this recipe? It makes TWO loaves, so you can put one in the freezer for later or give it away to someone very lucky!

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. (I found that after one hour, my banana bread wasn't completely cooked through. I ended up baking it for an extra 10-15 minutes.) Cool bread in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

121 comments:

I just made these, except I wanted to make muffins, so I halved the recipe for 6 large muffins. The only addition: 1/4 t. cinnamon. Baking them for 25 minutes on 350. I'll let you know how they turn out!

In the oven as I type. Only modification was substituting w/1 cup of whole wheat flour. I like the flavor ww flour gives my recipes. A slight sweetness and tends to be a bit lighter. Will let you know how it turns out in t-60 min (give or take) :)

Thank you Celeste for posting! Had a piece with my coffee this morning...warmned it up with a touch of butter and all I can say is...I'm glad I put the other loaf in the freezer for when family comes for Christmas! Deliciousness! Next time I will add the cinnamon like Vikki suggested, I think that will be a nice touch! Happy Holidays!

I am having trouble reading the amount of each of the ingrediants...for some reason it is overlapping on the decorative part of the page. Can you let me know the amount of each ingrediant? Thanks! Can't wait to try it!!

Hey there!! Sorry about that...I'm not sure why it would overlap like that. Here's the ingredients list...I hope it helps, and thanks so much for commenting! Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help! :)

I also found this on Pinerest. I knew this would be good with butter and cream cheese as ingredients! I was not disappointed. The only change I made was adding a cup of chocolate chips. Thank you for sharing.

Made this today in muffin form, and added chocolate chips. About 25-30 in a 350, and I'll have about 2 1/2 dozen normal size muffins. So tasty, thanks! Going to add this to my blog as well: reallifemarinewife.blogspot.com

I made this last week and have since then shared with everyone I know. Let me just say, I make a lot of banana bread but this is by far the most moist and best tasting I have ever made!!! I was also able to do 3 of the bread pans :) So there was more to go around. Thanks for the recipe!!!

Just popped these in the oven... Very excited. I usually make mine with Sour Cream so I'm anxious to see how much this will be different. I too added a little cinnamon and used brown sugar for half the sugar needed. I also made a crumble for the top. Brown Sugar, butter and extra fine pecans... Can't wait!! I'll give the results later..... :)

I just made this and followed the directions to a T, except I only added 2 1/2 cups of flour. I'm very glad I did, otherwise I think it would have been a very dense, almost dry, bread. I also sprinkled a little cinnamon on top before baking. It turned out SO yummy! I'll definitely be making this recipe again. :)

I've made 3 batches and I absolutely love this version! I did find that mine came out better with decreasing the oven temp to 325° and baking them for only 45 minutes. I do know that every oven is different, so you some tomes have to experiment with timing and temp! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!

I love how this makes two loaves!! I split it and made muffins and a loaf to put in the freezer. It was really good!! Do you have any idea on a calorie count? I, too, will add mini chocolate chips next time. Thank you!!

I made this today. Turned out great. I added semi sweet chocolate chips instead of pecans. Sent a loaf home with my inlaws. I did cover it in tin foil the last 10 min because of browning and cooked it for a total of 1hr 8 min. Thanks for the recipe.

I made this tonight after finding it on Pinterest. I made mini muffins and mini loaves. It is delicious!!! My husband has been popping mini muffins in his mouth every time he walks by them. Thanks for a great recipe!!

I found this on pinterest and made it last weekend. So good! I've made banana bread before using different recipes but never with cream cheese. It was so moist and so delicious. My whole family loved it, even the fussy ones :) (I skipped the nuts because of allergies, but it was fantastic regardless)

I wanted a reason to use my new Kitchen Aid mixer and I had 4 overripe bananas! I made it last night using toasted walnuts and a sprinkling of cinammon. It was moist and yummy and I did freeze the other loaf.

I just tucked mine in the oven! It's my first time making it and all I have to say is....Whew! My husband and I have only been married two years, and we haven't done a lot of baking so far so we didn't own a stand mixer or even a hand mixer!!! Let me tell you, my arm is on FIRE from all that mixing. I hope it turns out alright. I'll for sure come back and leave a comment about my success rate!

Wonderful as muffins and I added the cinnamon, dark chocolate chips and sourcream. I added coconut and an icing made with banana pudding (straight from box) pineapple juice, finely diced pecans, small marshmallows, and powdered sugar. Yummy!!!

OMG, I made two mini loaves last weekend, substituting chocolate chips for the nuts and adding some cinnamon. I have never had much luck with banana bread recipes, but this one is a keeper! It came out cakelike, which may have been caused by overbeating, but we were fine with the texture. We made mini desserts by cutting a slice in half and adding a thin layer of cream cheese and frying like a grilled cheese Sammy. Heaven! Getting ready to make a loaf right now. Thank you for this recipe!

Just made this last night, cut the recipe in half cause I only had enough stuff for one loaf. Used chocolate chips instead and accidentally added too much baking soda but it still turned out wonderful! Definitely a keeper!

I made these today. We live in eastern NM. I baked the bread for one hour and they didn't bake all the way. So, I am putting them back in the oven. They also came out very blond as compared to other banana bread I have seen. I also put 6 bananas and it just doesn't taste like banana bread. I don't know what I did wrong?? Maybe too much flour? I will try it again.

Love this recipe. I made them as muffins adding cinnamon to the batter and topping with a strudel mixture. Everyone fell I love with them. Also made plain mini muffins for the grand kids. They love Nana's baking!

I made this last night and it tastes really good but mine didn't rise at all. It's totally flat. I didn't overbeat or anything, My butter and cream cheese were softened and room temp. Even my eggs were room temp. All my ingredients were new… don't know what went wrong! I made one loaf with mini chocolate chips, the other without. Came out super yummy, but not so good in presentation.

I LOVE this recipe! The cream cheese really makes all the difference. The only thing I did differently was use whole wheat flour in place of white. Bread was amazing! I won't ever use any other recipe again. :)

I was short on flour so added 1 C oat flour, and always put cinnamon in banana bread! Can't wait to taste and compare it to my other recipe I made today with coconut flour and 6 eggs. Don't know if more expensive egg recipe is that much better. Love this recipe, but don't usually use any oat flour. Will let you know!

Make banana bread at least twice a month, saw this new recipe and decided to try it! Made four small loaves, one plain, one with pecans, one with choc chips, and one with cinnamon. All delicious! Thanks!

Making this for the 3rd time tonight, only variation is subbing half the flour with whole wheat flour and using walnuts (that's what I had on hand but the pecans in it are amazing). It never fails...I buy a bunch of bananas for my picky 18 month old becausesometimes she takes a notion and lovesthem, but then she decides she doesn't likethem this week so I am forced to make thisbread.. oh darn. :)

This really is the best banana bread recipe I've tried! I added cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and a few extra pecans to my batter. I did have to cover the edges with foil to prevent burning during the last 20 minutes of baking. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!

These are superb! Hubby broke his ankle so I whipped up 12 large muffins & 1 loaf to cheer him up. He said they are the best muffins he's ever had. I modified the recipe with 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, no nuts. Dipped muffins in melted butter and rolled them in cinnamon/sugar mixture. You bite into a crunchy outside and moist banana inside. The loaf is still baking and the house smells yummy.

Two loaves in the oven, smelling wonderful I might add, as I type. Only change I made was to coat the pans with cinnamon/sugar mixture instead of flour. Can't wait to taste it. I'll let ya know if it tastes as good as it smells! Thanks for posting recipe to Pinterest.

I have been making this recipe for a long time. It's the best !! I have made up to 8 loaves at a time. It freezes great. I usually thaw it & stick in the oven for about 10 min. to dry out the top. My entire family loves this.

I just took my 2 loaves out of the oven,hardest part was waiting for them to cool.I made the exact recipe with one substitution, as I did not have pecans so I used chopped walnuts, and did not toast them.Ok..just had a slice of pure banana bread heaven! Definitely a delish winner !!Walnuts are great in it but will do pecans next time! Thanks for sharing..this recipe just replaced my Mom's long standing winner Banana bread..but shh... I won't tell my 96 year old Mom! LOL

Mine are in the oven now. After reading all the comments this is what I did. I used ALL organic ingredients. I use half organic sugar and half organic brown sugar. I used both pecans and walnuts and poppy seeds. I also added cinnamon and a little fresh grated nutmeg. It's is smelling great. I'll let you know how they turn out.

I made two loaves as the recipe calls for (this past Saturday)and one loaf was gobbled down in less than 5 minutes. Everyone loved it, including myself. It was moist and tasty! The 2nd loaf I took to our shop 2 days later and it was still moist and delicious and everyone there loved it as well!

I made this recipe tonight for my family and guests and it was a bit with everyone including my picky 9 year old eater! Love it! Will definitely be making this bread again! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!

I have it baking in the oven as we speak... I used walnuts instead and added chocolate chips! I made four loaves tonight I have for kids so it will go fastalso sending some home with my mother she and my dad are in a nursing home and cannot cook

I made this tonight using pumpkin instead of bananas, and dates instead of sugar (pureed them in the food processor with the can of pumpkin until it was all smooth) because I'm making this for a pre-school snack. It started getting super super thick as I was mixing it, but hopefully it rises and turns out okay. I also added some spices (standard pumpkin pie spices). Fingers crossed, and next time I'll make it with bananas!

I make a delicious banana nut bread from a recipe that I cut out of the Arizona Republic newspaper about 20 years ago and it calls for 1/3 c. plain, non-fat yogurt and everybody wants to have my recipe because it is so moist. I wrap my bread about 5 min. after removing from the oven, and it's stay moist for a few weeks that way. I use walnuts in mine but will try this recipe. When bananas skins start getting dark, into a freezer ziploc bag it goes and into freezer till I'm ready to make several at a time. I bet the cream cheese and toasted pecans does add great flavor. Will have to try making muffins with this and my recipe.

First time baker here. I mixed by hand, sprayed 3 foil loaf pans with flour nonstick cooking spray and made mine with Neufchâtel. I only had 3 bananas. It was crusty on the outside and moist on the inside. My home smells amazing right now!!

Thank you for posting this recipe from Southern Living! My mom loves banana bread and yesterday was her birthday. We have had the flu in our house for far too long so I was unable to get out and buy her anything. I had purchased bananas before we fell ill so when I got better - they were way too over ripe. I just pulled 2 loaves out of the oven for mom's birthday celebration which will be tomorrow - it smells divine is is perfectly moist! I hope my husband can keep his hands off of it!